Long-Awaited Launch To Take Place in Second Half of March

After years of frustration and failed deals and license application freezes, Pokerstars will finally be launching in the New Jersey online gambling market on March 21st.

Nearly five years ago, Pokerstars officially exited the US market following "Black Friday". Pokerstars would eventually cut a deal with the US government, and one of the key points of this deal was that Pokerstars would not be prohibited by the Department of Justice from re-entering the United States, provided that federal and/or state law allowed them to do so.

Online poker was eventually legalized and regulated in three US states - Nevada, Delaware and New Jersey. Unfortunately for Pokerstars, a "bad actor" clause in Nevada's online poker legislation prevented them from immediately entering that market, while New Jersey elected to freeze Pokerstars' application due to their concerns over the continued involvement of several key names with the company, including Isai Scheinberg.

The situation in New Jersey was likely the catalyst for the eventual purchase of Pokerstars by Amaya Gaming Group Inc. in the summer of 2014, as it looked increasingly likely that Pokerstars would never re-enter the United States without a full-scale change of management.

In late 2015, after years of effort, Pokerstars and Full Tilt Poker were finally granted licenses to operate in the state of New Jersey. On March 21st, 2016, online poker will finally return to the state of New Jersey.

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According to Pokerstars, previous Pokerstars customers in New Jersey will need to sign up for a new account as of March 21st, though they will still be able to use their existing user ID and password. Pokerstars says that players will be given a VIP status, Play Money chips and a number of StarsCoin that will be based on their play history.

As part of their grand opening in New Jersey, Pokerstars will be hosting a freeroll on March 27th, 2016 that will be available to everyone who has downloaded the new Pokerstars NJ software package and registered for an account. The first prize will be $5,000.

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In addition to the traditional tournaments and cash games, Pokerstars will also be offering Spin & Gos and casino games to all of their Pokerstars NJ customers.